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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Love

Love is defined by dictionary.com as "aprofoundlytender,passionateaffectionforanotherperson."The love that Brian and I shared early on could easily be defined by as this. See on October 18, 2007 on our first date I knew I had found "the one". Being married before and having kissed LOTS of frogs, I had no idea what people meant when they said "when you know, you know," Well, I knew. (I'm not saying that our courtship was nothing but bliss. It was tough!) We dated long distant our entire courtship but we were madly in love or was it lust? We (he mostly) made that drive over from Birmingham every single weekend so we could be together. We emailed, texted, called, etc all day everyday. I'm still not sure what we had to talk about all the time. We were consumed with one another. Yet, it was a superficial kind of love.

When we married, I knew that I would never part with Brian ever. I knew that he was my Knight. I knew he would be my best friend for the rest of my life and that one day sitting on the front porch we would laugh as our grandchildren ran in the front yard. I loved him.

In January of 2010, our love was tested. We lost our sole source of income when Brian lost his job. It was difficult. It was some days impossible. But as we fought this life challenge, I realized how incredible my husband, Brian, is. I realized how blessed I am. I learned a new definition of love. I began to see our marriage and our love as God had intended it to be. I began to see that we were "one" in this incredible union. I understood what my grandparents had showed me for years- love that surpasses all understanding.

Today, as I was folding laundry and I was thinking selfishly how I wish Brian was coming home after working at the bank instead of going to his second job at JCPenney. God brought this verse , "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Ephesians 5:25. to my mind. My next breath caught in my chest as I grasped the most precious gift God has ever given to me aside from my Salvation. I FINALLY grasped that Brian's love for me is like the love Christ has for his church. Brian's purpose in this second job isn't in getting us out of debt (although that is a goal), it isn't because he thinks I spend too much money. He is working a second job thus working his tail off because that is how he loves me! Yes, my love language is quality time and physical touch but I think that this act of service is teaching me more about my marriage and myself. Brian is my Beloved. I cherish him and all of his generosity. I am blessed and highly favored in the eyes of my Lord.